You Belong With Me
by itzraurauslly
Summary: Austin & Ally. Best friends. Partners. Something more? That's the question on everyone's minds, Ally's most of all. They kissed, they spent almost every moment of every day with each other. They completed each other. At least, they did. But all that was before the beautiful new girl, Miranda, comes along and changes everything. (Based after Real Life & Reel Life!)
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: HOLAAAA, LOVELY READERS. I'm rewriting my very first Auslly fanfic, "You Belong With Me" from last summer. I reread it and cringed a lot, so. Here goes! By the way, this is based after Real Life & Reel Life but before Fresh Starts & Farewells.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally, unfortunately. **_

Chapter One:

I wish things had been normal today. Things were completely normal yesterday. They were normal the day before. So why was now so different? That's the question I would be unable to stop myself from always asking until infinity ends. It felt like that, at least.

My best friends, Austin, Trish, Dez and I were heading to our lockers. Trish and Dez were bickering over some pointless topic, whereas Austin and I stayed quiet. Sure, we had made up a couple days ago. But things had been extremely awkward ever since that kiss. And of course, what followed. Something Dez nor Trish knew about.

_I was playing piano in the practice room. This is what I always did when I wanted to block out the world. Tonight was no exception, especially after the long day I just experienced. It may sound selfish, but it was true. I was exhausted, but I needed music. It always helped me cope._

_Knock, knock. I glanced up, my face immediately breaking out in a wide smile when I saw Austin. My face instantly fell when I remembered our kiss earlier. I swallowed hard, turning back to the piano. I attempted focusing on the keys, which I failed miserably at the second I felt Austin's presence besides me. I tightly gripped the bench, practicing my breathing. I hated the effect this boy had on me. It wasn't fair._

_"Can we talk? Um, about earlier? It's just, I figured it would be easier without Dez and Trish hovering over us," he mumbled. I bit my lower lip. Needless to say, I was terribly wary, yet I stilled nodded. He exhaled, obviously trying to find the right words to say. I couldn't blame him. Things had never been this awkward and tense between us before._

_"So," I started, clearing my throat. "The, um, kiss. Was it really just for the movie?" There it was. The question that had been eating me up inside for the past two hours. There was no going back now. I wasn't positive how I felt about that._

_Austin shrugged, also staring at the piano keys. "I don't know. I, uh, I'm not sure. Was it?"_

_"If I knew I wouldn't have asked you," I snapped. I winced, regretting it the moment the words were out. "Sorry," I apologized hastily. "I'm just tired."_

_He smiled and shrugged. Again. "It's fine. I'm pretty tired, too. But I wouldn't be able to sleep without talking to you about this. We need to clear the air, you know?"_

_I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We do," I muttered quietly. I finally tore my gaze away from the piano keys, meeting his eyes. We stayed like that for a minute, simply staring at each other. And before I knew what was happening he was leaning in. And shockingly enough, so was I._

_And then we were kissing._

_I tightly shut my eyes, savoring the perfect feeling. I had just felt it a couple hours ago, but I couldn't get enough. I was addicted, and I didn't know how to break free. I didn't want to. Despite everything we had been through, I still had feelings for him. And that scared me. I had never felt this way before._

_Which scared me even more. I yanked away, accidentally bashing me head against the wall behind me. I let out a soft whimper, gently rubbing the back of my head. I looked up at Austin, pain in my eyes. It wasn't from hitting my head, though. "We can't do this, can we?" I whisper-asked. He blinked before eventually answering._

_"We can't," he murmured softly. I sighed, beginning to rub the back of my head again. This was hopeless. We were hopeless. Any chance of a real relationship with him was hopeless._

_"We shouldn't tell the others. They'll freak out and then they'll meddle. We can't deal with their meddling again," I said tiredly, cringing when I was reminded of their last attempt at meddling in our lives. It ended with us practically making out on camera._

We hadn't written songs since before our fight. We hadn't hung out by ourselves. In fact, we had barely exchanged fifteen words since that evening. It was killing me inside but what could I do? I knew I was losing him, too, which was even more heartbreaking. Thankfully, Trish and Dez hadn't noticed that anything was up. Maybe they weren't as observant as I once thought.

I paid little to no attention to Trish and Dez's conversation, trying to concentrate on unlocking my locker. It was actually kind of difficult, considering how close Austin was to me. It took me three times to finally get it open, thanks to my shaky hands. When I did, a small, white note delicately fell out and lightly landed on my feet. I leaned over and plucked it off the ground, warily opening it up and beginning to read.

_Dear Ally,_

_Hi. So, I'm not good at this kind of thing - expressing my feelings, I mean. Definitely not something I usually do. I wish I could find the good way to tell you this in person, but I can't. It's hard enough to even speak to you these days._

_You're gorgeous. You're beautiful, inside and out. You're the nicest person I have ever met. Also, the most talented. I just wish you could see that. You're kind of oblivious at times, but in a cute way. Then again, everything you do is super cute. Anyway, I needed to tell you that. Even if you don't know who I am._

_- Your Biggest Fan._

I reread the note over a dozen times before it finally sank in. I had a secret admirer. At least, it definitely seemed that way. Taking a deep breath, I quickly stuffed the note in my backpack, trying to be as subtle as possible. Of course, I had as much subtlety as a hand grenade. Stunningly enough, though, Dez was the only person that noticed.

"What was that note, Ally?" my redheaded, freckled friend asked. His curiosity was obvious. At least he didn't try to act disinterested, which was cool. But I was already regretting calling him and Trish unobservant, even if it was only in my head.

"What? Nothing. It was nothing," I said quickly and awkwardly. I zipped my backpack up and swung it over my shoulder, almost prospectively. Well, actually, there was no "almost" about it. I didn't want any of my friends to read this note. Not yet. I was still comprehending it. Besides, I didn't want things to be even more tense between Austin and I. The way we currently were was bad enough.

Trish smiled, pressing her lips together tightly. I breathed a silent sigh of relief, letting my guard down. Which, by the way, was a huge mistake. She let out a deafening screech, lunging at my backpack. She didn't even relax her grip until she had yanked the backpack away from me. I groaned, leaning against the lockers as I impatiently waited for the inevitable. So much for privacy. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. This was Trish, after all. She had always been like this.

Her eyes scanned the note before she grinned mysteriously. "Well, it seems like you've got competition," she muttered to Austin, smirking. I blushed, leaning into the lockers even more. Austin frowned, ripping the delicate piece of paper out of Trish's hands. I shut my eyes, cringing inwardly. I made a mental note to kill Trish later.

I slowly, warily opened my eyes when I heard the crumpling of paper. By the time my eyes were completely open, the admiration note was on the ground and Austin was long gone. I let out a quiet whimper, leaning over and snatching the piece of paper off the ground. I ripped my backpack away from Trish and stuffed the note in the pocket on the left side. I glared at Trish and she shrugged simply, pursing her lips. I exhaled, swinging my backpack over my shoulder again and storming off. Nothing could ever be nice here, could it? No, there always had to be complications.

I barely paid any attention in class. I know, shocking. But the truth is, I couldn't think. Well, actually, I could think. Just not about school-related stuff. Which was very unusual for me. I couldn't help it, though. I kept replaying my conversation with Austin after our kiss that evening. I wondered if it had anything to do with him stomping off earlier. It might, but I wasn't sure.

I began to doze off about halfway through class. I rested my arms on the desk, and my head on top of them. I knew I would probably regret it later, but for once, I didn't care. I let myself doze off, immersing myself into a wonderful thing called dream land. At least, that's what I call it. Trish, however, has a different name for it:

Stupid.

_It was nighttime. I could tell because of the darkness that surrounded me. I glanced down at myself, then frowned slightly. Orange blouse, dark skinny jeans. This was the same outfit I wore when I conquered my stage fright. I wearily rubbed my eyes, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was still the same outfit once I was done. Ugh._

_It took me about two minutes to remember where I was. I was walking home, by myself. More memories came flooding back. Austin and Kira. Kira agreeing to be Austin's girlfriend after he kissed me. I winced, totally neglecting the stabbing pain in my heart._

_I groaned, picking up the pace. A small, vague part of me knew that this was just a dream. However, the less sensible part of me thought otherwise. And it seemed like I was going with the second one._

_"Ally! Ally, wait!"_

_This. This never truly happened, that genius part of my mind reminded me. I brushed it away, turning to the person who had just shouted my name. I hadn't even seem him, and I already knew who it was. I would always recognize him. And I hated that._

_I sighed, sounding exasperated to my own ears. "What, Austin?" I asked impatiently, tapping my feet against the concrete ground. He opened his mouth, making a few noises, but no actual words came out. He stammered some more before I began walking again. He followed me, grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around to face him. I opened my mouth to attest, but it was too late. He had already crashed his lips onto mine._

_I stiffened at first, but soon relaxed. I tangled my hands in his blond hair, bringing him closer to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I relaxed even more. For something that was so obviously wrong, it felt pretty darn right._

_I pulled away, whispering those three sacred words against his lips:_

_"I love you."_

"Allyson!"

I jerked my head up, letting out a loud yelp. I yanked my head up so fast I screwed up my neck. My teacher, Ms. Domingo, shook her head, grimacing. I could actually hear her gritting her teeth. "I'm glad you had a nice nap, Miss Dawson. But this class is for learning, not catching up on your precious beauty sleep," she said darkly. She shook her head some more before striding back to her cluttered mahogany desk. I felt my face warm up as I slid down further in my seat.

That dream, though. I knew it meant something. I mean, it was quite obvious. I was not an idiot, and I had heard those three huge words before I was awoken. I told him I loved him. And it felt so real. That terrified me, actually. Because if it felt that real, well, could it actually be real?

No. It couldn't be. There was no way I was in love with one of my best friends. Sure, we used to date briefly, but it didn't work out. We agreed to simply stay friends a really long time ago. And I was still firmly standing by that. I was not going to let a single thing mess up our partnership and our friendship. Those two things meant way too much to me, more than any silly, romantic relationship we could ever possibly have.

But still. If I only thought of him as a friend, why did I dream of kissing him? You obviously don't dream of making out with your friends, unless you have stronger, deeper feelings for them. Ugh, I hated this. All these contrasting emotions. I was exhausted and it was only second period. I still had a few more classes, and then Austin and I were supposed to work on a new song.

Help, please?


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally. (:**_

Chapter Two:

I paced back and forth throughout the practice room, impatiently waiting for Austin to arrive. He was already almost ten minutes late. I was starting to believe that he wasn't actually going to show up. Which would be extremely weird. He hadn't bailed on a songwriting session since right after our partnership first began. Well, he usually called and told me why he couldn't show up if it came to that. Which it hadn't in two months.

So what was going on?

Twenty more minutes passed. It honestly felt like my feet were going to break off because of all the pacing. I stopped suddenly, feeling worried. Austin never left me hanging like this. Even when he was incredibly mad at me, he at least texted. No, this was bad. Something had to be wrong.

I had literally just pulled out my phone and was about to text him when the door opened wide. I nearly dropped my cell phone in surprise when I saw Austin standing there. I breathed a silent sigh of relief, placing my phone on the piano keys. We both winced at the unappealing sound.

"Why are you so late? I thought you were _hurt_!" I yelped. I cringed inwardly at how I sounded. I sounded like one of those needy girlfriends everybody hates. Which was crazy, since Austin and I weren't really dating.

He shrugged, seeming indifferent to my yelling. "Sorry, Ally. I was just talking to that cute new girl, Miranda Pennington. She's trying out for cheerleading tomorrow. Isn't that great?"

I glanced at him, feeling a pang when I saw his expression. Dazed and distracted, meaning he liked this Miranda girl. A lot. I swallowed hard, vaguely hoping he couldn't hear it. That would be the definition of awkward. "Yup, totally great. But ... you're thirty minutes late because of some girl?" Okay, fine. Fine. I'll admit it. I was jealous. Whatever.

Austin finally looked over at me, raising his eyebrows. "Did I mention how cute she is?"

I clenched my teeth together tightly. "Yes," I said through gritted teeth. "Yes, you did."

The jealousy I was feeling just confirmed my worst suspicions from earlier. I was still crazy about Austin. I wasn't sure, however, if I was in love with him. I mean, hopefully that was just my mind running off to who knows where.

He stared out the window dreamily, looking like he was on cloud nine. "She's just so amazing. And she's funny and talented and nice and kindhearted and smart and absolutely gorgeous."

_All the things I'm not._

I flinched when I thought that, shaking my head. Um, nope. No, I wasn't insecure anymore. I got over that a long time ago. I conquered my stage fright, got confidence, etc. I was finally the person I had always wanted to be. So why was I thinking like that again?

"I wanna write a song for her."

Oh, right. That's why. "Wait ... what?" I asked slowly, feeling my heart rate suddenly speed up. And not in the good way. No, it was more like the help-me-I-feel-like-I've-been-kidnapped way. If that's a thing.

He nodded quickly, resembling a lovestruck bobble head. "Yeah, sorta like what I did for you. But I can't think of any good lyrics. Do you think you could maybe, please help me?"

He brought it up. He brought up the song. And he said it so casually, too, like he didn't have a single care in the world. Like that wasn't the biggest deal ever. But considering the fact that he was apparently nuts over a girl he hadn't even known for twenty-four hours, I wasn't even that shocked. I totally should have seen this coming. And I can't even be angry, because I'm the idiot that reminded him we couldn't be together. _Ugh_.

"I-I can't," I stuttered, feeling like my heart had just been ripped out of my chest. Okay, maybe that was a tad bit melodramatic, but still. You get the point. "I have to ... help my dad with something."

He frowned. "But isn't your dad out of state for the week? Something about a music store owners' convention in Colorado?"

I winced. Great, the one time he had to decide to pay attention was when I told him, Trish and Dez about it yesterday. Awesome. "Oh, did I say my dad? I meant ... umm ... Kira!" Yup. Because, out of all the people in the freaking world, I just had to name Austin's ex-girlfriend. Sure, Kira was nice, but we weren't exactly besties. Okay, that sounded kinda rude. Let me rephrase that: We were not close. At all. Wait, that sounded worse ...

His face fell and his shoulders slumped. He knew I was lying through my teeth. "Oh, okay. Right. Sorry ..." he trailed off awkwardly, not meeting my eyes. I gnawed on my bottom lip, trying to fight the urge to reach out and apologize. I knew that, if I did, I would be stuck helping him write a song about that Miranda chick. And that would tear me to shreds.

"I gotta go. See you later?" I added hopefully. He shrugged, not answering. I took a deep breath, snatching my phone off the piano and exiting the practice room. Once I was in Sonic Boom, I turned my phone on, booted up my contacts and scrolled through them. I paused when I reached the Ks.

_Kira_. I pressed the "Call" icon, tapping my feet against the floor. I silently prayed she would answer, but I wouldn't even be shocked if she didn't. Like I said, we weren't very close. Most likely because of the Austin drama a few months ago.

"Hello?"

Oh, wow. Didn't see that one coming. "Hi, Kira. Um, I was wondering ... do you want to hang out?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Austin & Ally. Sigh.**_

Chapter Three:

So that's how I ended up at Kira's house, chatting about the latest Maroon 5 music video. Yeah, it turns out we actually had a lot in common! I had never really realized that before, since the few times I spoke to her either involved Austin or trying to get signed by her dad. Her dad is Jimmy Starr, by the way, from Starr Records. That's where Austin's signed, actually.

Austin. Right. My best friend. My music partner. The guy I was crazy about, who happened to have strong feelings for someone else. That's not complicated at all. **[Insert Sarcasm Here.]**

"So, what's up between you and Austin?" Kira asked suddenly, as if reading my thoughts. I swallowed hard, trying to come up with an appropriate answer. I should have just be able to say we're simply friends and move on. But for some reason, I couldn't. The mere thought of saying those words made my stomach ache. And not in a pleasant way, either.

Kira raised a single eyebrow. "Um, Ally? Are you okay?" she asked slowly, as if judging my reaction. I nodded, faking a happy smile. She nodded back, but I knew she didn't believe my facade for a second.

She bit her lower lip. "So. Are you a fan of Demi Lovato?" she asked brightly. I flinched at the sudden subject change, but grabbed onto it and muttered a "yes." Maybe Kira and I could actually become kinda close.

"My dad is okay with me staying here tonight!" I announced with a squeal. Kira squealed right back, jumping up and down. It was a couple hours later, and we had even more in common than I previously thought. We had spent practically every second of the last two hours just learning about each other, bonding, the works. It was loads of fun, and it finally felt like somebody actually understood me.

We jumped around for a few more seconds before crashing onto her giant canopy bed. I looked around her bedroom in silence, just taking it in. It was very obvious that Kira was rich. It's not like she bragged about it or anything. You could just sort of tell from her furniture, clothes, trinkets, etc. I mean, come on, she had a huge canopy bed. It wasn't lame or childish, either. It was large, with lilac drapes around it. The bedding was striped; Pink and blue. The mattress was white, like clouds. It was absolutely beautiful.

I glanced around again. Each of her walls were a different color. The east wall was hot pink, the west wall was lime green, the north wall was lemon yellow and the south wall was dark blue. It was really pretty, and it was something I had always wanted to do. My dad was too cheap, though. No offense, Dad.

I looked up at her ceiling, smiling. I could just make out the faint outlines of stars, the kind that light up when it's super dark. I thought it was quite ironic, since her last name was Starr and all. Then again, maybe she meant to do that.

Maybe that's why Austin liked Miranda instead of me. I bet she realized puns instantly. Me, on the other hand, well, I was a total dork. I was totally obsessed with perfect punctuation and niceness and things like that. It was obvious how come he got over me so quickly. It still hurt, though. I was insane about him, but he moved on within, what, a week? That didn't seem fair at all.

Kira poked my arm and I jumped, nearly ripping her drapes as I struggled to grip something to keep from falling off the bed. Kira giggled quietly, grabbing my arm and yanking me back upright. I smiled thankfully at her, then frowned. "Why did you poke me?" I asked, sounding a little tired.

"I said your name, like, ten times," she muttered, obviously biting back a smile. I blushed, looking away. Great. Way to look like a total idiot in front of your new friend.

"You were thinking about Austin," she told me abruptly. I was unfortunately swallowing at the time, and I almost started choking. I caught myself just in time, though, so yay.

"H-how did you know?" I stuttered, feeling my face warming up even more. Was it honestly that obvious? Could Trish and Dez tell? Oh, gosh, could _Austin_ tell? I would die. I would literally curl up in a freaking ball and die. No exceptions.

She giggled again, a bit louder this time. "I couldn't tell, although you pretty much just told me. See, that's an old trick I learned in second grade. I've been using it literally every single day of my life since then. At least, whenever I want to know something," Kira babbled. I swallowed hard, mentally scolding myself for falling into such an obvious trap. I was supposed to be smart!

Kira's face grew serious after about thirty seconds of uncontrollable giggling. "Don't worry, Ally. I'm not going to tell anybody. You can trust me. I was just wondering because I personally think you guys would make a cute couple."

I breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Thanks, Kira," I mumbled. She grinned in response, patting my arm reassuringly.

"Anytime."

Since I stayed the night at Kira's place, she decided it was her responsibility to drive me to school the following morning. I agreed happily, excited to have someone to talk to on the way. I used to ride with Austin before we started fighting a couple weeks ago. Even though we made up, we hadn't resumed the tradition. Or whatever you want to call it.

We arrived at school about ten minutes after we left. Yeah, Kira was one of those insane drivers. I was seriously surprised I didn't have a heart attack during the drive. I thanked her with a polite smile, exiting her car. I frowned when she exited, too. "What?" I asked stupidly.

"Oh, dang, I forgot to tell you. I'm switching schools! It took a lot of persuading to convince my father to yank me out of that dumb, cutthroat private school, but I eventually won. I have been wanting to come to Marino High even since I met you guys!"

I allowed myself about sixty seconds for this unexpected news to sink in. Once it did, though, I grinned like a maniac. "That's great news! This is amazing!" I yelped, catching the attention of several people. I pointedly ignored them, linking arms with Kira after we shut the car doors and locked it. We walked into the school, laughing and talking about the most random things. People were still staring at us, but I didn't care. I was happy.

"K-Kira, what are you doing here?" Trish asked when we accidentally slammed into her. Since she wasn't bothering to pick her books up I learned down and did it for her. I handed her them in a neat stack, although she didn't seem to notice me. I gnawed on my bottom lip, unsure of what was happening.

Kira nodded happily. "Yup! Isn't this awesome?"

Trish exhaled loudly, finally accepting her extremely heavy books from me. "Yeah. It's great," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes. I glanced at Kira, who simply shrugged; She didn't know what the problem was, either.

"Ally! Ally, Ally, _Ally_!"

I gulped, turning around slowly. "Heyy, Austin," I mumbled, biting down even harder on my lower lip. I was actually shocked I didn't draw blood or anything. That would have been disgusting, though.

He grinned, stopping when he was right in front of me. And when I say "right in front of me," I mean that quite seriously. There was barely any distance between us. I suddenly remembered my dream from that afternoon in class and blushed furiously, taking a subtle step back.

"I finished the song for Miranda!"

Oh. Ouch. Yeah, that hurts. A lot. "O-oh, wow. That's ... that's really great, Austin. I'm sure she'll love it," I murmured, staring at my feet. I was borrowing clothes from Kira, although I didn't look too different. We even had similar fashion taste. So, to define that, I stared down at Kira's white wedges. I was also wearing navy blue skinny jeans and a white and yellow striped blouse. Like I said, a tad bit different but nothing too noticeable.

"I really want to sing it to her, hopefully win her over. But I'm not sure if it's that good. Do you mind listening to it today after school?" Austin asked in that pleading tone he so often used on me. It always worked, too. That was the heartbreaking part.

I nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay," I agreed quietly.

"Awesome, thanks, Ally! Means a lot! All right, well, I better get to class. Bye Trish, Ally, Kira - wait, Kira?" he stopped abruptly. I almost laughed. Almost.

Kira nodded, smiling wide. "Yep! I go to Marino High now!"

"Oh, cool! Well, I really gotta head to class. I have science, and the teacher assigned Miranda as my partner. Bye!" he said excitedly, practically running off. I inhaled deeply once he was gone. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I could feel my heart break.

Trish sighed loudly. I glanced at her and she rolled her eyes again. _What_? "Yeah, I gotta get to class, too. Later, Ally, Kira," she mumbled, stomping off. I stared after her, frowning. I was so confused. Had I missed something?

"Right! I better go, too. Don't wanna be late on my first day, haha. Oh, hey, Ally, what's your first class?" Kira asked, breaking me out of my muddled thoughts.

"Umm ... history," I answered quietly.

"Great! Mine, too! Do you wanna walk together?" she asked hopefully. I shrugged, still deep in thought. Kira smiled slightly, linking our arms together again and beginning to walk. She was practically dragging me along, but she didn't seem to notice. I vaguely wondered whether that was a good or bad thing.

But then I remembered the fact that I was going to have to preview Austin's song for Miranda and I temporarily forgot my own name.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or "If I Can't Be With You" - R5. Carry on!**_

Chapter Four:

Yeah, unfortunately "after school" came a lot faster than I thought it would. Which meant having to listen to Austin's song about the amazing Miranda. Which meant my heart breaking into a billion tiny pieces. But anyway. How was your day?

"Okay," I said, forcing a bright and happy tone. I sat up on the edge of the counter in Sonic Boom, crossing my legs. This was it. It was time. "Let's hear it."

He frowned for a moment, as if fazed by my lack of excitement. I temporarily felt guilty, then remembered what was coming. My guilt vanished pretty quickly after that.

Austin seemingly shrugged it off, heading over to the piano. He sat on the small black bench, then glanced over at me. It took me a moment to realize that he was expecting me to sit besides him. I shook my head, fiddling with my hands. There was no way I could sit next to him. If I did, I would remember what happened the last time we sat besides each other at a piano, and I would freak out so much inside I wouldn't even listen to his song. Ugh, everything was so complicated. I hadn't even had time lately to think about that secret admirer's note I received a few days ago. I should, though. Austin liked Miranda. I needed to move on, too.

"Ally?" Austin asked loudly, breaking me out of my thoughts. I smiled reassuringly at him, linking my hands together tightly. This was going to be absolutely agonizing.

"Okay, so, here goes. I actually wrote the, um, beginning part a couple weeks ago about-" he paused, then continued, "-well, anyway, I wrote the majority of it last night."

_About you._ Somehow, I knew those were the words he had been about to say. Go ahead and think I'm conceded. That's okay. I just knew it was about me because we had talked out our ... _feelings_ ... for each other. And he wouldn't have cut off if he was going to say otherwise. I know him too well.

"That's great. I'm really proud of you," I said, smiling sincerely for the first time since we got here. He smiled back before turning away so he was facing the piano instead of me. I bit my lower lip, wondering if this awkwardness was going to pass or not.

"Thanks. So, here's the chorus ... Here goes," he muttered, talking to himself more than me. He began playing, slowly at first. Almost warily. And then, he started singing. That was all I could concentrate on anymore. "B_aby give it all up, up, I'd give it all up, if I can't be with you. All of this stuff sucks, yeah, all of this sucks if I can't be with you. And no Oscar, no Grammy, no mansion in Miami. The sun don't shine, the sky ain't blue if I can't be with you._"

I froze. He wrote that about her. He wrote that about _Miranda_.

"So, um, what didja think?" he asked eagerly, staring up at me excitedly. I swallowed hard, nodding encouragingly. At least, I hoped it was encouragingly. If not, this was going to be even more awkward and tense than it already was.

His face fell. "You hate it, don't you?" he asked, exhaling loudly. Dang it. I shook my head quickly, trying to remember how exactly I could talk.

"No, no, I love it! It's amazing! She's going to love it," I said happily. He grinned at me, hopping off the piano bench, racing over to me and hugging me tightly. My breath hitched, but I managed to hug him back. He pulled away after a few short seconds, looking confused. I was just about to ask him what was wrong when he sat besides me on the counter. I felt my heart begin to speed up a little as I took in how little distance there was between us. It was practically nonexistent.

"Thanks, Ally," he mumbled, staring pointedly at his high tops. I shrugged in response, staring at my -ahem, I mean, Kira's- white wedges. We stayed like that for awhile, just sitting in silence. Shockingly enough, it wasn't weird. It was actually nice. Like I said, shocking. Eventually he slid off the counter. I followed his lead, almost falling flat on my face. Okay. So _that_ was awkward.

"So, you have your secret admirer, I have Miranda. Things couldn't be better ... Right?" he added, almost as an after thought. I considered it. I supposed, in a way, that was true. For him, anyway. And I certainly wasn't going to burst his happy little bubble.

"Right," I agreed quietly.

He smiled at me. "Thanks again, Ally. You're awesome. But, um, hey, I gotta get home. My parents are doing some sort of family night, which is probably going to be even worse than it sounds. Anyway, bye, 'night, talk to you tomorrow," he said the last part in a rush before striding out of Sonic Boom. I stared after him, suppressing a sigh. This really sucked.

And that's when I noticed the tiny piece of white paper by the cash register.

I picked it up and simply stared at it for almost a full minute. I finally opened it slowly, my nerves getting the best of me. I had a feeling this was from my lovely secret admirer who didn't seem to realize I was in lo- _like_ with somebody else.

_Dear Ally,_

_Hey. So, I saw that you got my last note. I hope you liked it! Anyways, I just wanted to remind you that you're amazing. You deserve to know. And this is probably extremely awkward, but oh well._

_Stay you. There's no one better._

_- Your Secret Admirer._

"_Oh_," I mumbled after reading it once, twice, ten times.

I didn't know what I was feeling anymore.

"Hey. Ally!" Kira squealed. It was later that evening. I was still at Sonic Boom, working my usual shift. I had been rereading those two sweet notes and contemplating my feelings for Austin on and off (although mainly on) these past couple hours. I had accidentally spoken aloud once, startling one of the customers. It would have been funny if they hadn't run out of the store. Oops.

I smiled at her, glancing away from my beloved book. Songbook/journal/diary, actually. And sadly enough, Austin's name had been filling up practically every page lately. It was awful, really, how much I thought about him and cared about him. It made me want to scream sometimes. Well, most times. "Hi, Kira."

"So ... what's up?" she asked, sounding perky. I was beginning to realize that Kira was extremely perky. It wasn't a bad thing, because I was, too. It was nice to know somebody similar to me.

I shrugged, closing my book and placing my left hand over it, probably seeming possesive. Call me crazy, but after losing it over a year ago, I had become even more clingy to it. Okay, so, only Dez had it and it was for his gingerbread house, but still. Austin and Dez still _read it._ I would never show my face ever again if they read it now. "Nothing much, just working. You?"

"I was just wondering if you were okay. I heard Austin talking to you about the song for that Miranda girl this morning, so." She paused for a brief second. "Have you even met her?"

I shook my head, gnawing on the inside of my cheek. It was a substitution chewing on my hair. "Nope. According to Austin, though, she's amazing," I announced with a sickly sweet smile.

Kira pouted a little. "I'm sorry, Ally. I'm sure she isn't _that_ great, though."

"If she wasn't great, Austin wouldn't be crazy about her," I snapped. The guilt started seeping in the second I saw the hurt look on Kira's face. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. I'm just exhausted. I'm sorry."

She smiled a small smile. "It's okay. I understand. Don't worry, though, Ally. True love always wins in the end," she told me with a suggestive wink. I blushed furiously, breaking eye contact. Austin and I weren't in ... well, you know. _Love_.

She giggled quietly, then glanced up. "Oh, hey, Trish! Hi, Dez!"

"I'm going to kill Austin," Trish growled, completely ignoring Kira. Kira pursed her lips, looking at me questionably. I simply shrugged, not quite sure where my best friend was going with this.

"Why?" I asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"He chickened out and didn't sing his new song to Miranda. Do you know what song he did sing to her, though?" she hissed, looking absolutely furious.

I shook my head.

"Steal Your Heart."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or the Maroon 5 song, "One More Night."**_

Chapter Five:

There was an awkward, tense pause after that as we all allowed the news to settle in. Once it did, however, there was a bit of an explosion. Okay, more than "a bit." Much more like a huge explosion that most likely resembled a volcano. But whatever.

"He can't just sing a song he wrote about Ally to another girl!" Kira yelped, looking absolutely appalled. Despite whatever tension was between them, Trish nodded in agreement. Dez sighed, looking like a deflated balloon. I knew he was torn, because he thought Austin and I should be together, yet he was still Austin's best friend. This must be really weird for him. He was being awfully quiet, too.

"Ally? Don't you have anything to say about this?" Trish asked, sounding like a mixture of exasperation and annoyance. I flinched a little, not expecting such a sharp tone from her directed at me. It actually took me a second to recover from the sheer shock of it.

I shrugged, looking down. "It's his song. He wrote it, not me. He can sing it to whoever he wants," I muttered, pulling out my phone. I bit the inside of my cheek as I debated on what I was doing. I shook my head after a minute, dropping my phone back and my book bag and beginning to stride away.

"Ally! Where are you going?" Dez, of all people, asked. I stopped abruptly, trying to clear my thoughts. Where _was_ I going? Did I even know?

_Home_. I wanted to go _home_. I wanted to get away from everybody I knew, if only for a couple hours. I wanted, no, needed to be alone. I turned to face Trish, Kira and Dez, then exhaled. "I'm going home. Would one of you please take over my shift? It's only fifteen more minutes, but I'm just not feeling good. Please?"

"I will!" Dez suggested eargerly. I winced, realizing that I probably should have defined myself a little better. Kira, noticing this, smiled shyly and offered to watch the store with him. I eagerly agreed to that, then walked away. It wasn't until I was halfway home that I realized something else:

Trish had barely spoken to me at all.

I headed straight upstairs to my bedroom the second I got home. Which was kinda pointless. My dad, Lester, was visiting some old high school friends that were in town. He wouldn't be back until about eight o'clock, which gave me three full hours to be alone.

I hadn't lied to my friends when I said I wasn't feeling well. I really was not. I was sick to my stomach, actually, and I had a horrible headache. The sensible part of me figured I had caught a cold or something and I should make myself some soup and drink lots of liquids. Maybe watch some TV. The other part of me, the tired part, didn't care and just wanted to sleep until my father got home.

I went with the tired part.

"Ally, sweetheart, wake up."

I wearily opened my eyes, feeling groggy. I sighed when I saw my dad, realizing that it was probably about eight. And that I had slept through my so-called three hours of "freedom and relaxation." I felt a bit better, though. At least, the nausea was gone and the headache was not _as_ terrible. So there was a plus.

"Hi, Dad," I mumbled, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. By the way, ew. Was it just me, or is that stuff absolutely disgusting?

He smiled at me, looking relieved. "Hey. Wow, sweetie, you were out like a light. Are you feeling all right? ... Oh, that rhymed. Check it out, I'm a songwriting machine just like my baby girl."

I cringed, my face warming up. I know, I know. _I will always be his baby girl._ And I'm one of the more understanding teenagers when it comes to that. But the songwriter part ... Wince. "I'm feeling okay, thanks, Dad. Just a little tired. I slept pretty bad last night. But don't worry. I'm perfectly fine."

"If you're sure ..."

"Positive," I confirmed.

He smiled at me again, lightly kissing my hair. "All right, then. Get some more sleep, Allycat. 'Night," he added, almost as an after thought.

"Goodnight," I murmured, fiddling with my fingers. I waited until he shut the door behind him to warily stand up. Fortunately, I didn't get an awful head rush and fall flat on my face, which was yet another plus. I strode over to my wood desk, grabbing my cell phone and booting it up. I eagerly tapped my music, snatched my ear buds, plugged them in, then hit "Shuffle." I relaxed the instant I heard my favorite Maroon 5 song, "One More Night."

"_And I cross my heart and hope to die that I'll only stay with you for one more night. And I know I've said it a million times, but I'll only stay with you one more night_."

I hit "Repeat," smiling. I began to softly sing along about the fifth time it played. Knowing every lyric to every single song on my phone actually came in handy sometimes. Huh.

I yanked my ear buds out when I heard a knocking noise. I knew it wasn't the door, because this noise was far too close. I was all the way upstairs, after all. I pressed "Pause," dropping my phone on my bed and slowly heading over to my window to investigate. And then nearly having a freaking heart attack.

There was Austin, perched up in the huge tree nearest to my room, banging on my window. I made a "shh" motion with my finger to my lips, opening my window and sticking my head out. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" I hissed at him.

He shrugged. "I came by to talk to you, but your dad said you were asleep. So I muttered a thank you and pretended to leave. Then, once he went back inside I climbed the tree, started to knock on your window, and here we are. It took you, like, five minutes to notice, though!"

I glared at him. "Well, sorry for not-" I started a sarcastic retort, then cut off. "Wait. Why did you need to talk to me so desperately that you climbed up a giant tree?" I wasn't going to lie. I was a little freaked out. Usually, when somebody wants to talk to you, it's not a good thing. Sure, Austin and I weren't in a relationship or anything, but still. I was scared.

"Can I come in first, please? I'm about to lose my balance here."

I winced, backing up a bit. "Yeah, okay. Come in. But be quiet. We're both dead if my dad catches us." Wow, this sounds like such a cliche movie. The lead boy that the lead girl has feelings for sneaks into her bedroom late at night (well, eight o'clock) for a secret conversation. Except, this wasn't a movie, those feelings were not returned, and I was getting the impression I wasn't going to like this conversation.

Austin carefully climbed through the window, almost losing balance twice. I swear, I held back so many screams. You have no idea.

He brushed his clothes off before turning to face me. "Hey," he muttered, grinning. I grinned back immediately without even having to think about it. It was instinctive. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Considering my life, it's probably both.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked again, sitting on the edge of my bed. Austin sat besides me and I felt my heart start to pound rapidly. I really hoped he couldn't hear it.

"I wanted to talk to you about the ... s-song," he stuttered, looking extremely nervous. I winced inwardly, already knowing what song he was talking about. The song he wrote for me, then promptly sang to some girl I don't even know. See? I told you I wasn't going to enjoy this little chat.

I bit my bottom lip, deciding to play dumb as long as I could get away with it. The more time I have before hearing the inevitable from him, the better. "Um, what song?"

"Uh, Steal Your Heart. Dez told me that Trish told you I sang it to Miranda earlier today. I just wanted to, um, see if you were okay with that. I really was going to sing her the song I wrote about her, but I freaked out and sang the first song that came to mind, which happened to be that one, haha."

I shrugged weakly. "Yeah, of course I'm play with it. Like I told Trish, it's your song. You can sing it to whoever you please." Okay, this was officially agonizing.

He grinned even more. "Thanks, Ally! You're the best!" he yelled. I was about to warn him about my dad, but then he spontaneously pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged back even tighter, desperate for this connection. I needed to be near him. I didn't even know why. This was just a crush. Nothing serious. So why did it feel like so much more than what I felt for Dallas?

He started to pull away, but since I was clinging to him like he was a life preserver, he couldn't. It caught him off guard and he ended up losing his balance. He knocked us both down so that we were lying besides each other on my bed, each of us still clinging to the latter. I blushed furiously, but I couldn't find the strength to move and he certainly wasn't doing anything. I buried my face in his shirt, feeling absolutely mortified.

"Sorry," he mumbled into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I focused on my breathing, trying to calm myself down. I had never been in a situation like this before, so I had no clue what I was supposed to do.

He pulled away after about a minute, sitting up. I sat up, too, surprised to see that he was also blushing. I swallowed hard, not meeting his eyes. He stood up after a couple tense seconds, heading back to my window. I followed him, feeling my heart start to sink. "Wait," I pleaded. He stopped abruptly and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. "At least take the door."

He shook his head, not even bothering to turn around. "Nope, I'm good. Thanks anyway, Ally. Goodnight," he said, beginning to climb out of my window. I watched him go, accidentally chewing on my hair. I blamed the nerves.

I spit my hair out once he was long gone, wondering how I could even stand to do it last year. "What just happened?" I whispered. I wasn't asking anyone in particular, since I knew nobody could possibly hear me.

But, seriously.

What. Just. _Happened_?


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally, but dear God, if I did Calum Worthy would write way more episodes, because that boy is hilarious.**_

Chapter Six:

It so figures that, the one day I could really use sunlight and happiness, it decides to rain. This also happened to be the day Trish, Dez, Kira and I were scheduled to meet the perfect Miranda. The girl that Austin was currently dating. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Right. Austin and Miranda officially became a couple eight days ago, exactly a week after Austin snuck into my room. Things were slightly different now. Austin didn't seem to have much time for me anymore, or even Dez. Which meant less time to write songs, which meant really, really annoyed fans. It was a complicated, irritating cycle that I hoped would end soon.

"Kira," I muttered, fiddling with my fingers. "I don't know about this." See, Kira had recommended that she give me a makeover. Apparently it wasn't going to be anything too drastic, just something that might catch Austin's eye. I was totally against it, by the way. I mean, come on. He already has a girlfriend. But Kira was persistent, and we both knew I was about to give in.

"Trust me?" she pleaded, giving the puppy dog eyes. I sighed, shrugging. Obviously taking that as a yes, she grinned from ear to ear, pushing me down into the chair by her vanity. I pressed my lips together tightly, mentally preparing myself for the torture yet to come. Why did I agree to this again? _Did I even agree to this?!_

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I was going to have a full-on panic attack right here if I didn't. And I hadn't had one of those since before I conquered my stage fright a few months ago. Well, besides the one I had during filming for Dez and Trish's movie based on me and Austin's lives. And that was only right before the scene where I got over my stage fright, when Trish told me Austin and I were going to have to kiss. It took her, like, ten minutes to calm me down. But we don't speak of that.

Kira patted my shoulder reassuringly before she did the strangest thing ever - she put a blindfold on me. I whimpered quietly, about to ask her what the heck she was doing when she began talking. "This is just for the surprise effect. This way, you can't see what I'm doing until afterwards. See? Kinda like one of makeover TV shows! Fun, right?"

"Riiiight," I mumbled sarcastically. Obviously not catching my extreme sarcasm, Kira giggled, beginning to mess with my hair. I sighed loudly, hoping she understood how very, very annoyed I was at the moment. Oh, yeah, I knew that she was just trying to help me and all. But I didn't exactly want her help. I didn't want a makeover. Honestly, I was absolutely terrified right now. But, you know, no worries.

"Here goes," Kira mumbled.

"Done!" Kira squealed. It was about an hour later, and apparently she was finished treating me like a paper doll. I sighed quietly as she slowly spun the chair around so I was facing the mirror again (eventually, she had to rip the blindfold off so she could do my makeup). I inhaled deeply right before I could finally see my reflection, praying Kira had known what she was doing.

She did. Oh, boy, did she.

I mean, it even took my breath away. And that never happens.

Kira had completely straightened my hair, which might sound horrible but really was not. She styled it perfectly, so it bounced around as I moved, drawing attention to my face. Speaking off, she didn't even overdo it on the makeup. Just a little bit of sparkly lip gloss, black mascara and light pink eyeshadow. She didn't even use any blush, which was awesome. So, to get right to the point, I looked amazing, as selfish as you may think I sound when I say that.

"Whoa," I breathed, still letting this new look sink in. I mean, I'll happily admit it. I was absolutely astounded. Kira completely changed me in, like, an hour. I had to give my new friend props for that.

"Soo, do you like it?" Kira asked, seeming slightly nervous. I nodded quickly, still incapable of actually speaking. She giggled, grinning from ear to ear. "Awesome! I'm really glad. Okay, come on, we better get going. You still have to take Austin's breath away and all."

Austin had told us to meet him in the mall, by Mini's. Yeah, that was going to be _grand_, since every single time I went there lately I remembered when Austin and I imagined what things would be like if we dated. This was going to be totally agonizing, and then some.

Kira and I arrived there about ten minutes after we left her place. I waved at Trish and Dez, who were already there. Dez waved back excitedly, but Trish rolled her eyes. I stifled a sigh; I had to ask what her problem was later.

I sat on one of the stools by the counter at Mini's. Dez sat besides me and Trish sat besides him. Kira just stood there kind of awkwardly, rocking back and forth on her heels. That was sort of strange, since there was still one stool left, but oh well. To each their own, right?

I tapped my foot impatiently as we waited for Austin and Miranda. None of us were talking, which was unusual. Usually you couldn't get us to shut up, ever. But today felt different. I brushed off all the weird vibes I was getting, deciding instead to focus on the sky. T_he sky was so pretty. Oh, gosh, that cloud looks like a guitar ..._

Which of course reminded me of Austin.

I groaned quietly, resting my chin in the palms of my hands. Dez glanced at me, then smiled sympathetically. "I know, you probably feel really terrible right now, Ally. But don't worry. It's you Austin's in love with. He just doesn't see it yet. Everything will work out in the end, though."

I think I made some sort of choking whale sound after that comment. And I couldn't even respond, since Austin and his girlfriend chose that exact moment to pop up out of nowhere. Well, from the other side of the crowded mall. But whatever, moving on.

"Hey, guys!" Austin exclaimed cheerily. "So, this is my girlfriend, Miranda Pennington. Miranda, these are my friends, Dez, Trish, Kira and Ally."

He said my name _last_. I know it probably sounds wimpy and pathetic, but that hurt. A lot. That's how I knew things were definitely changing, since Austin always said my name first ever since we met. It was the same for me. That was our thing. Or, at least, it was. And no amount of reassurance from Dez was going to help me now.

"Nice to meet you," Kira said politely, speaking first. Kira and Miranda awkwardly shook hands. Once they pulled away, Miranda wiped her hand on her shorts. I started to roll my eyes, then stopped myself. No. I was not supposed to be jealous. I should be happy for Austin, despite how much I lo- _like_ him.

Dez glanced at Miranda, then bit his lower lip. "Hey, Mirrrannnda," he said her name slowly. She raised an eyebrow, looking uncomfortable. I resisted the very strong urge to laugh.

Trish looked at Miranda blankly. "Hello," she said in a total deadpan. This time, I couldn't help it; I giggled quietly. Fortunately, no one heard me, thank God.

Then, everyone's eyes were on me. Including Austin's. I swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. "Hi," I choked out, my voice sounding strangled. Miranda nodded warily before turning back to Austin. He wrapped an arm around her waist, grinning. I tightly closed my eyes, feeling sick. Dez poked my arm, reminding me to open my eyes. I did.

I observed Miranda, feeling sicker and sicker by the moment. She was extremely pretty, with straight, honey colored hair, tan skin and dark green eyes. Add in her _very_ short, plain white shorts and dark purple ruffled blouse, along with a solid gold bracelet, I looked like a potato next to her. I inhaled deeply, hoping it would help the sudden pain I felt in my chest. It didn't. Not at all.

I looked down, staring intently at my legs. For the first time in months, I felt like that shy songwriter that constantly hid behind curtains. No. No, I wasn't going down this road again. I couldn't. Taking another deep breath, I forced myself to look up. I regretted it immediately, but I bit down on my bottom lip. Hard. A reminder that I needed to be strong, and hopefully not look like a total idiot.

And then Austin sat in the stool besides me. I bit down on my bottom lip again when our legs brushed, feeling my heart rate speeding up by about ninety percent. God, I felt like I was going to have a panic attack any moment now.

Miranda tapped my arm, and it wasn't until then that I realized I had been staring at Austin. Her boyfriend. I gulped, smiling nervously at her. She smiled back, but hers seemed a bit more ... what's the word? Oh, right. Malicious. "Can I have that seat, please, Ally?"

I narrowed my eyebrows at her, feeling my heart starting to pound again. But this time it wasn't because of my wonderful music partner. Adrenaline, I assumed. This always happened during situations like this, where I had to make a fight or flight decision. I usually chose flight, always terrified that, if I fought, the person I was fighting with would hurt me. I was only human, after all. I didn't enjoy getting hurt. So, if I had a choice like I did now, I would much rather just walk away. You really do have to pick your battles and stuff.

"Ally was here first," Dez said pointedly, startling me. I looked over at him, feeling so much appreciation for him in that extremely tense moment I can't even describe it.

Miranda glared at him for a split second before plastering that happy little smile on her perfect face again. "That's true. But, um, Austin's _my_ boyfriend. So, I would really like to sit next to him, if you don't mind."

My heart started to pound again. I couldn't even check Austin's reaction, I was so afraid. I felt my palms begin to sweat a little, so I focused on calming down. Usually, these days, I could stand up to people if I needed to. This felt different, though. And I knew why. I didn't want Austin to get mad at me. That was holding me back.

"Listen, Miranda-" Trish started, but I cut her off before she could say anything we all might regret later.

"No, it's okay. I get it. _She's_ dating him now, anyway. Not me," I said, swallowing hard. Again. "Here's the seat," I offered, standing up slowly, then walking away to stand by Kira, who was standing by Austin. Miranda happily accepted the seat, smirking in success. I gritted my teeth together tightly.

This night was not kicking off to a very good start.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally. :33_**

Chapter Seven:

And after that, the night just got a hundred times worse.

Trish, Dez, Kira and I were completely left out of Austin and Miranda's conversations. Yeah, every single one. It was amazing, actually. I had never felt like such a third wheel in my entire life. If I even ranked _that_ high.

"Hey, um, I think I'm just gonna go home," I blurted after an hour and a half of pure torture, courtesy of Austin and Miranda. Yay. "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," I muttered, grabbing my small pink purse and beginning to walk away. I slowed my face after a couple seconds, making sure nobody would spontaneously jump up and follow me, begging me to stay or whatever.

No one did.

I don't know how, I don't know why, but somehow I ended up in the practice room. It was dark in the room, because of the coming storm and all. Fortunately, it had stopped raining while we were out and about, but I was getting the impression it was going to kick up again. I didn't really mind, though. I kind of enjoyed the rain, at least, at the moment.

I stumbled over to the medium-sized piano bench, not bothering to turn any lights on. The only light I had, actually, was the huge yellow, glowing "A" Austin got me (us?) after helping him write another song, right before we officially began our partnership. I smiled at the memory, but it quickly faded when I remembered everything earlier. He didn't have time for me anymore. He liked Miranda. I blew my shot with him, multiple times.

I started blankly at the piano, trying to organize my muddled thoughts. Why was everything so complicated these days? I get it, you hit bumps in the road during your time on Earth and all. But this bump just so happened to be excruciatingly painful. I wanted to get past this dang bump before I lost my mind completely over it.

I heard a soft knock at the door. My head snapped up immediately as I struggled to see who it was. I swallowed loudly when I made out Austin's figure, feeling a huge lump in my throat. _He had come after me._

I managed a weak "hi" before awkwardly switching my attention back to the piano keys. I froze when I felt him sit besides me, all the blood rushing to my face. I was glad it was relatively dark, so he couldn't see.

"Hey," he mumbled back. He tapped his foot, almost seeming anxious. I cringed each time it accidentally bumped into my ankle, trying to calm myself down. It was like, whenever we touched I felt like I was going to have a freaking heart attack. It was scaring me, actually. I knew this wasn't really normal.

He exhaled suddenly, surprising me. "Why did you leave?" he asked, sounding a bit irritated. I flinched, trying to process this. Austin never snapped at me (besides during our fights, but that was extremely different). This was unexpected, to say the least.

I shrugged, then remembering he probably couldn't see me, I reminded myself how to speak proper English. "I don't know. You and your _girlfriend_ were wrapped up in your own little world and I felt pretty left out. We _all_ did, actually, which you most likely would have noticed if you ever took your eyes off of Miranda," I said bitterly, shocking myself. At first, I had just wanted to go with "I don't know" but the rest just sort of flowed.

There was a deafening silence after that. I started panicking inside, wondering whether or not I had just totally wrecked my friendship with Austin when he eventually spoke. "Were you jealous?" he asked quietly, completely catching me off guard.

Seriously. I would have been far less surprised if he had told me he was secretly Demi Lovato or something. "N-no," I stuttered, my voice shaking. I flushed again, silently cursing myself.

He paused, then talked again. "Ally," he whispered. I gulped, tightly shutting my eyes. "Come on. You can tell me anything. That's our thing, remember? That's what makes us ... us," he chuckled, probably at the cliche-ness.

I scooted away from him, almost falling off the bench. Oops. "No," I said again, sounding much more confident this time. Thank goodness.

_Our thing. Us._ He was making it sound like we were dating or something. Which we totally weren't. I mean, he has a beautiful girlfriend and all, who I learned was cheerleading captain this evening. Of course. But anyway, I really wished he would stop saying things like this, because I didn't like the way it sped up my heart rate. It honestly felt like my heart was going to burst any second.

He sighed. "Ally, I've known you for what feels like forever-"

I winced, hurt. "Forever, huh? It's only been a couple years. Am I really that terrible?" I interrupted, looking down. I heard him exhale again, probably from frustration. I winced again. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm annoying and dorky and uncool and-"

He cut me off, though.

_By. Kissing. Me._

I froze for a second, but soon kissed back eagerly. I instantly tangled my hands in his hair, pulling him closer. For a minute, I forgot about everything but him. He placed a hand on my lower back, pulling me even closer. I gently closed my eyes, savoring this. I never wanted this to end. I loved this. _I loved him._

Oh my God.

No.

I did _not_ just think that.

I yanked away from Austin abruptly, sliding as far away as I could possibly get. I was breathing heavily, feeling like I did when Austin, Trish, Dez and I went bungee jumping. Except this was even more of a rush than that.

_Miranda Pennington._

"You ... just ... cheated ... on ... your ... girlfriend," I said slowly, feeling even more panicked than before. "Oh my gosh, this is all my fault. I-I ... wait," I stopped, glancing at Austin. "You're not even talking. We almost _made out_ and you have a _girlfriend_ and you aren't even _speaking_. What's _wrong_ with you?" I blurted, appalled. Okay, maybe I was being a little harsh, but c'mon! Can you blame me?! Don't answer that, please.

"What's wrong with _me_?! You're the one that just _ran off_ for no apparent reason, then said you _weren't_ jealous, then _kissed back_. I think we're both a bit messed up, don't you?"

I clenched my teeth together tightly. "At least I'm not a cheater."

"You're right. You're a liar."

My jaw dropped ad I looked at him. I quickly shut it once I recovered. "Oh my gosh. You're so egotistical. Just because I kissed back doesn't mean I'm jealous of you and Miranda. It doesn't mean I have feelings for you. It just means I'm a _normal teenaged girl!_" I shrieked, my voice shaking a little. I felt ten thousand times worse than when Miranda asked for my seat earlier. I was freaking out so much, it wasn't even funny.

He rolled his eyes. "Ugh, just forget it. You're so complicated."

I snorted in disbelief. "Oh, I'm complicated? You're the guy kissing your best friend and music partner when you already have a girlfriend, who's probably thinking of you right now! Yeah, ya feel that? That should be guilt. If it's not, you're seriously messed up!" I knew I was being cruel, but I was angry. I didn't like Miranda, but I still knew this was very, very wrong. He couldn't just keep doing this. Leading me on, then dating her, I mean. It hurt too much.

"Doesn't that just make me a normal teenaged boy?" he asked, mocking me.

I laughed humorlessly, slowly shaking my head. "No. No, there's a difference. I'm not dating anybody. You are," I pointed out unhelpfully. "Although that doesn't seem to bother or stop you. I'm pretty glad _I'm_ not your girlfriend now."

"You are such a know it all! Ugh, I wish I never met you sometimes," he muttered darkly.

That's when my entire world came crashing down, as melodramatic as that probably sounds. How would you feel if you find out you're hopelessly in love with your best friend, then said best friend says they wish they never met you sometimes? If you have, you know how I'm feeling. And it wasn't nice. It was not nice at all.

I stood up shakily, walking across the room and switching the light on. I bit my upper lip to keep from crying, like I wanted to. "Go," I ordered, my heart pounding. Not in the good way, either.

"Ally-"

"No. That's _it_," I hissed. "Just ... go, please. And don't come back," I added, my heart rate speeding up even more. This was it, then, I realized. This was ... goodbye.

"Al-"

"No," I said again, louder. "No. I don't care if you're sorry. I don't care if you supposedly need me. You obviously don't if you wish you never met me. So. Just. Get. Out. Of. _My_. Practice. Room."

He stared at me for a second before looking down. Taking a deep breath, he strode out the door, not even looking back. I resisted the very strong urge to stare after him.

Once he was long gone, I shut the door behind me, leaned against it, and tried to cry. I really did. It should have been easy, too. I was close enough, like, five minutes ago. Then I realized, it hurt _too much_ to even cry.

So I just sank down to the floor, rested my chin on my knees and stayed there until I eventually fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally, but I reeeeaaaally wish I did. :D**_

Chapter Eight:

"Ally, what on earth are you doing here?!"

I opened my eyes wearily, feeling groggy. It took me less than five seconds to remember everything that had happened ... whenever. I didn't even know what time it was. It was still dark outside, but that could mean that it was either nighttime or just overcast again. I rubbed the annoying sleep out of my eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. Once I could see clearly, I glanced around before my eyes eventually landed on my dad. I stared at him before my breath hitched, and suddenly I was crying.

My dad, he wasn't the best at dealing with female emotions. Especially emotional breakdowns, like the one I was apparently having right now. I managed to choke out words like "Austin" and "kiss" and "goodbye," but that was pretty much all. And, apparently, I was able to cry again, since I was sobbing like a young child instead of a seventeen year old.

I don't know how long I stayed like that, crying my eyes out while my dad reassuringly patted my shoulder and told me that everything was going to be all right. I didn't really believe him, though. Eventually I ran out of tears and I shakily stood up, grasping onto the doorknob to keep from falling. My legs felt like mush, which made it extremely difficult to stand up correctly. I took a deep breath, still gripping the doorknob. "The funny thing," I managed, my voice breaking. "Is that we weren't even dating, but I feel like I've been through a breakup."

My dad frowned, and it took me a second to realize that he hadn't understood my sobs. It was times like this I really missed my mom, who actually spoke Girl. I wish she hadn't gone back to Africa. "I'll tell you later," I promised, although we both knew I probably wouldn't. "I need to get ready for school."

Dark blue greens, old black wedges and a green tank top. I certainly hadn't dressed up today, but whatever. I ran my fingers through my straight chestnut hair (with amber highlights) as I stared at the outside of my school. I would most likely see Austin today, and that was going to break me like a promise _**(A/N: Sorry, I'm a big Taylor Swift fan! ;D).**_ But, still, taking a deep breath I entered the large building. I still kept my head down, though.

I knew I was going to have to explain the current situation to Trish, Kira and Dez, but honestly, I didn't want to. I was still processing it. How was I supposed to explain it when I didn't even understand it? That's like asking a kid who's failing math to teach a math class. It doesn't even make sense.

So I just continued ducking my head whenever someone as much as glanced at me. It wasn't exactly fun, but whatever. I didn't feel like having fun right now, anyway, so I suppose that was a good thing. I fortunately made it to my locker. However, you can't hide forever. Or six and a half minutes, if your name is Ally Dawson.

"Ally!" Kira yelped, appearing besides me suddenly. I faked a small smile, unlocking my locker so I could grab my school book. It took me over a minute, when it should have only taken my a few seconds. Kira, noticing this, frowned but didn't comment on it. Phew.

I snatched my book once I succeeded then quickly strode away, praying she would follow me. She did, of course, because that's just my luck. She grabbed my hair, yanking me to a stop. I let out a squeak, surprised. She smiled apologetically, standing in front of me and blocking my path. "Okay, Ally. Talk."

I shrugged awkwardly, staring pointedly at my feet. "I don't really want to, but thank you anyway."

"Ally."

I sighed, warily looking up at her. "Austin and I got into an argument last night. Narrow it down, let's just he said he wished he never met me sometimes and I pretty much ended our partnership. Can I go now, please?"

"No! And don't narrow it down! I need details. What all happened? What caused the fight?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but then I caught a glimpse of Miranda. She was at her locker, applying lip gloss. It occurred to me then that anybody could hear me and Kira's conversation and start telling everyone what I said. I quickly clamped my mouth shut and shook my head, running to my classroom, despite the sacred No Running In the Halls rule. I had bigger problems right now.

I didn't see Austin.

Not during classes, not at lunch. He had ditched. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't my fault, but my common sense knew better. I probably would have ditched, too, if I wasn't so worried about my perfect attendance record and all. Anyway, Trish and Dez kept firing questions about me, asking if I knew why Austin wasn't present. I avoided them the best I could, but at lunchtime they practically had me cornered. They fired questions at me a mile a minute, all involving Austin. I ignored them, pointlessly picking at my food, which was sure to be inedible anyways. I didn't even remember getting in line.

For some reason I was unable to tune Trish and Dez out, but I could ignore them the best I could. I tried paying attention to other things and people, namely Miranda Pennington. She looked distressed, and I vaguely wondered if it was because of Austin's absence.

Kira didn't sit with us at lunch today, although she did wave at us from across the room. She was flirting up a storm with some boy from my science class. I supposed he was cute. I wasn't sure, though. I only paid attention to Austin, as lovestruck and weird as that might sound. After all, I was lovestruck. I was in love with him, and it took a forbidden kiss to point that out.

Maybe "forbidden" isn't the best word. Okay, yeah, it's the worst. Man, I have to stop reading and watching _Romeo & Juliet_ so much. It was affecting my vocabulary whenever I spoke of romance, or my lack of it, for that matter.

I was tempted to text or call Austin. Oh, God, was I. Pretty sure I pulled out my cell phone at least ten times at the lunch table. I guess that a part of me had hoped he had made the first move, texting me and apologizing to me. But then I realized that he had tried to say something last night and instead of listening, I had basically thrown him out.

I didn't touch my phone again for the rest of the afternoon.

Walking home was lonely. Usually I snagged a ride with Kira (or Austin, back in the good ol' days) but I hadn't felt like being interrogated, so I ducked out of school before any of my friends could even catch sight of me. So here I was, walking home by myself in the middle of Miami while it was about to start pouring rain.

Awesome.

The loneliness, that made sense. But you know what didn't make sense? The face that I had been planning on heading straight home and locking myself in my bedroom until tomorrow morning and, somehow, I had ended up at Austin's house instead.

I stared at the front door blankly, trying to figure out how I had gotten here and why I was here and if I had finally, completely lost my mind. Needless to say, my mind was running a mile a minute. Just like I should have been running around from this lovely home. Yet still, I lingered. Eventually I sat down on his porch, half-waiting for someone to notice me and half-praying nobody realized I was here. Yes, I was a complex girl. Austin had gotten that right last night.

_Austin_. I had thought his name, what, like two hundred times today? The sad part is, I'm not even exaggerating. It was a miracle I got through all my classes without failing or something. Even though I wrote about, say, the Civil War, I was really thinking about how it felt when Austin kissed me like the world was ending. Intriguing, huh?

I rested my head against the stairs' railing, beginning to doze off. I always felt so nice here, at the Moons'. Usually because Austin was always nearby. _Oh, gosh, there I go again. Austin, Austin, Austin._

"Ally?"

I jumped up immediately, my face warming up. "Oh, h-hey Mrs. Moon. I, um, I was just -" What could I actually say? I was just walking home but somehow I ended up at your house and I think it's because I'm recklessly in love with your son. Is that a new blouse?

Yeah, no thanks. Instead I just kind of stared at her, my mouth gaping open a bit. After a moment she smiled, latching onto my arm and leading me inside. I warily allowed her, not quite sure what was about to happen. I didn't even want to know, but I was willing to go with the flow.

Hey. Those could be good song lyrics!

"Austin, honey, Ally's here!" Mrs. Moon shouted up the staircase. She turned back to me after a short second. "He's been locked up in that stuffy room all day. He hasn't come out once. He won't even tell us why, or talk to us whatsoever. Maybe you can coax him out, though. You have a ... effect ... on him."

I blushed furiously, trying to come up with something smart to say. Instead I just ended up stuttering like a bumbling fool. Mrs. Moon chuckled, then screamed up the stairs again.

"Just tell Ally to go away!" he yelled back, sounding annoyed. I flinched, feeling like I had just been slapped in the face. Okay. I totally, totally deserved that.

I glanced worriedly at Mrs. Moon and she sighed quietly. "Would you mind going up there, please, Ally? This whole situation is really stressing me out, and I'm pretty sure you're the only person that can help."

Gee, no pressure. "Okay," I choked out, not even questioning why she hadn't mentioned Miranda. His beautiful, cheerleader girlfriend.

I climbed up the stairs and walked, pausing only once I reached Austin's door. I hadn't been up to his room a lot, but we still had some memories. I smiled a tiny bit, then banged on the door as hard as I could. Which, all right, wasn't very hard but hey. A girl can try.

"Austin," I groaned, banging harder. I reached for the knob and twisted it, just to find that it was locked, exactly like his mom said. I huffed. "Austin. Monica. Moon," I said slowly, focusing on pronouncing each syllable. I counted backwards from three in my head, using Mississippi's, like I was taught in kindergarten. He actually opened the door when I reached one, scaring the heck out of me. I hadn't seen that coming. At all.

I ducked into his bedroom quickly, not even giving him time to slam the door in my face or whatever. I leaned against the wall, wincing a bit when he closed and locked the door again. He then sat back down on his bed and picked up his laptop, beginning to type away frantically. It was like I wasn't even there.

_He still wishes he never met me._

I walked away as fast as I could after realizing this, awkwardly fumbling with the doorknob. Once I finally unlocked it, it took all my strength to twist it open. It felt like I was going to fall apart again, right in front of him this time. And I could not let that happen. No way.

"Sorry, Mrs. Moon, I tried, gotta go, sorry again," I said in a rush before stumbling out the front door. I shut their door behind me, leaning against it and taking a deep breath. That was really it. He hated me.

Well, let me rephrase that:

He hated me and I loved him.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or The Fault In Our Stars.**_

_** A/N: Thank you guys so much for all your sweet reviews! I truly appreciate it! You're the reason why I keep writing. Stay awesome! **_

Chapter Nine:

Everything changed after that afternoon.

Trish and Kira actually bonded a little, as surprising as that may sound. I supposed it was because I wasn't speaking to either of them. That kind of thing can bond people together, I guess. The funny part was, I hadn't even been trying. And yet, whenever I did try, every thing blew up in my face. I think we both know I'm not just talking about Kira and Trish now, by the way.

I sat by myself at lunch. I didn't raise my hand in class or correct the teachers when they were wrong. I walked to school and back home alone. I didn't really talk to people unless I absolutely had to. In fact, I spent the majority of my time either writing new songs or reading _The Fault In Our Stars_. I had already reread that book three times. Right now, I was reading chapter two for the fourth time.

My friends were worried about me, that was obvious. They constantly tried to talk to me at school, the only time they saw me, but I pointedly ignored them. They called and texted and emailed and instant messaged me, but I never replied. I'm sure my dad would have been worried about me, too, but I made sure he was extra busy lately.

I wasn't exactly depressed, if that's what you're thinking. I just felt like I needed some time to myself. So, I would lock myself in my bedroom every evening, reading that one book and blasting songs on my smartphone. I always skipped Austin's, though.

_Austin_. He didn't even know about the "slump," as Dez said, that I was going through. I eavesdropped on one of Dez and Trish's conversations yesterday, and it turns out Austin had barely spoken to him (Dez). He was always hanging out with the popular crowd, his arm slung around Miranda's neck ninety percent of the time. I speed-walked away after hearing that.

Two weeks passed, and I still didn't change my new habits. Yep, fourteen whole days of moping and being the most anti-social person in the entire school. I probably would have happily gone a month if Trish hadn't chosen that day to corner me by my locker. I would have been long gone before she even caught sight of me if I hadn't accidentally dropped my books, too. Dang it.

"Ally," she said sharply. I flinched, slowly picking up all my school books. I carefully stacked them in a neat pile, then attempted to quickly stride away. She stopped me, though, stepping in front of me and blocking my path. "Ally," she repeated, sounding even colder than before. I bit my bottom lip preparing myself for the inevitable wrath that was coming.

"Yes?" I asked quietly, not meeting her eyes. I felt bad about blowing my best friends off, I really did. But every time I even considered talking to them again, the cruel thought that Austin wished he never even met me popped back up and I lost my nerve. It wasn't fair that a single sentence, a single insult, could hurt me so much. I knew why it did, though.

It came from _him_.

"Don't you think we need to talk? You've been avoiding me, and the others, for the past two weeks and none of us know why. All we really know is that you aren't talking to any of us, or Austin, and Austin isn't speaking to us, either. Come on, Ally. We deserve _some_ answers."

"You're right, you do," I agreed softly. "But that doesn't mean they have to come from me," I added, finally meeting her eyes.

She sighed. "Fine, be like that. We'll just try talking to Austin, then, you know."

God, she already said his name three freaking times already. Each time hurt worse than the last. "Okay," I said simply, shrugging a bit. Her eyes widened slightly, but then softened. Taking a deep, deep breath, I pushed past her, heading to my next class.

I was walking home, by myself. Just like the last couple weeks. It was lonely sometimes, but deep down I knew that it was for the best. I kind of liked being alone, anyway. Much less stress.

"_Ally_."

Oh, crap. I froze immediately, my blood running cold. That voice. That stupid, beautiful voice I hadn't heard for over two weeks. Swallowing hard, I turned around slowly, not quite ready to face him. Not yet. But we all have to do things we don't want to, and that was my thing. "Hi," I whispered, my voice breaking a little.

He sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I was pretty surprised his precious Miranda wasn't with him, since they were practically attached at the hip for the past whoever knows how long. Too long. Wasn't being attached at the hip _our_ thing? Things do change, though. I just wish that sometimes I got an advanced warning or something. "Trish told me that you're ... You're avoiding everybody."

I shrugged slightly. "So?" I asked sharply, not even bothering to deny it. There was no point. And besides, I couldn't ever lie to him. I didn't even know why.

He exhaled loudly. "So?! You can't ... you can't just do that, Ally!"

I huffed sarcastically. "Why not? You do!" I shouted right back, my voice sounding hoarse. I hadn't yelled in ages, and my vocal chords apparently wasn't used to it. I gulped, wincing when I realized that was throat was as dry as sandpaper. Yikes.

He paused, then frowned. _Yeah, I know it must be rough, having your own words turned against you, buddy._ "You're right," he muttered, looking down. "I have. But I still talk to other people. You don't."

"Exactly," I hissed. "I mean, how would you feel if someone you love so freakin' much it _hurts_ tells you that they wished they never met you?!" I screamed desperately. I froze when I realized what I had said. No. No, no, _no_. I wasn't supposed to say that. But now, the words were out and there was no way I could stuff them back in, despite how much I wanted to.

I shook my head after almost a full minute of tense silence. "I gotta go," I muttered darkly, slinging my book bag over my shoulder and finishing the walk home.

That night, I had nightmares. Many, many nightmares, actually. And they all revolved around that perfect blond boy that broke my heart.

I woke up around three in the morning, screaming into my pillow. I gripped my pillowcase tightly, trying to keep from crying. All those nightmares ended so terribly, I don't even want to talk about it. Let's just say, my subconscious decided to not-so-gently remind me that life is very short and you can lose someone at any minute.

I quickly grabbed my cell phone and called the person I knew would understand. And no, before you get your hopes up too high, it was definitely not Austin. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet after earlier. "Ally?"

"Hey, Kira," I breathed, my voice still shaking a little. Those stupid, stupid nightmares. I was never going to be able to un-see them.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately, sounding extremely stressed.

I almost lost it, right then and there. I got a hold of myself, though, so thank God. "I-I'm sorry. I know it's really late and a school night but yeah. And that not all I'm sorry for. I've been super mean lately, and none of you guys deserve that. I was horrible, actually."

There was a pause. Then. "That's okay, Ally. I'm just glad you finally came around. Speaking of, why exactly did you come around, if you don't mind me asking?"

Honestly, I meant to tell her about those darn dreams. That's not what came out, though. "Today ... today I told Austin I loved him."

"... _Oh, God._"


	10. Chapter 10

**_Disclaimer: Sorry to burst your bubble, but I still don't own Austin & Ally. ~~~_**

Chapter Ten:

And that's how things just sort of fell back into place.

I told Kira about what had happened with Austin earlier that day, which took a heck of a lot longer to explain than it should have. Then, I asked her why she hasn't told Trish and Dez about my fight with Austin.

"It wasn't my story to tell," she said simply. I smiled; Maybe things weren't going to be that bad anymore. Maybe I just needed to stop pushing everyone away when I needed them the most.

The next day I actually sat with Kira, Dez and Trish at lunch. I told Trish and Dez about everything (the fight with Austin, me telling him I loved him, etc). By the time I was finally finished, they were both staring at me, completely slack-jawed. Their unappealing food remained untouched as they stared at me blankly. I smiled sheepishly. "So, um, yeah," I ended awkwardly.

They stared at me for a few more seconds until Trish eventually sighed. "I swear, that boy is such an idiot," she mumbled, obviously talking about Austin. Kira giggled, but I didn't. Even though I was mad at him, and he probably hated me now, I still wasn't a huge fan of people insulting him. Crazy, right?

"It's okay," I insisted. I winced when I saw their disbelieving expressions. "Really. It's fine. He's moved on, and it's about time I do, too. No biggie. I always knew this day would come, anyway."

"Ally," Trish warned. I ignored her.

"I mean, we're pretty much a terrible match. We're total opposites, and it's a surprise our friendship even lasted that long. Really, it is."

"Ally," Kira hissed next, sounding even more urgent than Trish. I ignored her, too.

"And, sure, it's going to take some time, but I'll move on _eventually_. Yeah, I'm in love with him, but whatever. People fall out of love all the time. It can't be that hard.

"_ALLY_," Dez yelled loudly, completely catching me off guard. I frowned slightly, twisting my neck around to try to figure out why my friends were screaming at me. When I saw him, though, I immediately wished I hadn't moved a muscle.

I swallowed loudly. "Austin," I greeted him awkwardly, not making any eye contact with anyone. He bit her upper lip, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of my seat and away from everyone else. I followed without question, too. How pathetic is that?

"I was hoping I misheard you yesterday, but I guess not," he admitted, exhaling.

Ouch. "Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, shaking my head. He opened my mouth, most likely to backtrack, but I beat him to it. "Let me guess, you didn't mean it like that? Sure. How did you mean it, then? And how didja mean it when you said you wished you never met me sometimes? I'd love to hear all the juicy details."

His face warmed up. "I can explain?" he offered weakly, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

I signed, yanking my wrist out of his grasp. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have better things to do than casually sit around while you tell me happy little fairytales. Let's just face it. You never really cared about me. You were totally using me, and once you didn't need me anymore, I was completely useless to you. So you ditched me. Don't worry about having to explain, Austin, because I already have it all figured out. And although I _might_ love you now, I sure won't soon enough. It'll just take time. And then you will simply be somebody I used to know."

What a joke. I didn't believe the words I was saying, at least about moving on, but he sure did. He understood the other stuff, too. Good. I hope he feels guilty.

After going over what I just thought, though, _I _felt guilty. How unfair is that?

"Bye, Austin," I whispered, sounding even more exasperated than I did that afternoon at the mall, by Mini's. When he was trying to win me back after the big kiss. After Kira agreed to be his girlfriend.

_It's time to close the door on Austin, and open the door on me._

Easier said than done.

My nightmares just got worse and worse every night. I called Kira about three times within seven days, crying my eyes out. We would end up talking for, like, twenty minutes while she tried to calm me down. The third time, though, she had practically given up. I was sobbing and screaming and, honestly, I was terrifying my dad.

That was Friday morning. A lot had changed just a few hours before my nightmare, and I didn't even know about it.

I woke up around five-thirty in the morning, so I decided to stay up, since my alarm went off in thirty minutes and all. I quickly took a shower, etc., while trying to banish those images from my mind. God, I hated those nightmares more than I had ever hated anything or anyone. Not that I really hated anybody, not even Miranda or Val.

I left for school extra early, grabbing a granola bar and a ripe red apple. I left without even saying goodbye to my dad. Like I said, he was freaking out because of my strange dreams. I wouldn't tell him what they were about when he asked, though. I didn't even tell him about my fight with Austin, besides while I was crying that morning. He didn't understand that, fortunately. So, needless to say, he was a tad bit annoyed, and I didn't exactly feel like going through yet another interrogation. Thanks anyway.

I walked to school with my head down, but I paused when I heard an oddly familiar voice. I ducked behind a nearby bush, concealing myself pretty well, if I do say so myself. Anyway, I guess Trish and Dez's eavesdropping habits had somewhat rubbed off on me, because I listened intently to the girl's conversation.

"Yeah ... yeah, apparently she's having nightmares. About _my_ boyfriend. Not that I care about him, but whatever." Pause. "You know it's you I really love. He doesn't, though, which is absolutely priceless." Another pause. "Mhm, so I'm gonna tell him, hopefully convince him that's she a total freak. Which she is." Yet another short pause. "Revenge really is sweet, isn't it, baby? Well, I gotta go. School and all. Bye, Trent-y, I love you."

I warily peeked my head out, then gasped in surprise. Very loudly. Her head swirled around to face me, but by then I had already hid behind the bush again. After a few seconds she seemingly shrugged it off, striding away confidently.

Miranda was working with Trent, who was apparently her boyfriend. She was just getting revenge on Austin, probably for embarrassing Trent at that stupid dance off. And I had a really good feeling I was that "freak" she was talking about.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally, but I do own a MyTab. jk, they don't exist and I don't own it, either.**_

Chapter Eleven:

I pretty much ran to school after hearing Miranda and Trent's phone conversation. I arrived red-faced, sweaty and panting, but it was totally worth it. I think.

"Umm, Ally? Are you okay?" Kira asked, frowning. Somehow I had ended up at her locker, where Trish and Dez also were. I shook my head.

"What's wrong?" Trish asked, frowning slightly. I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to think of a good way to tell them. I mean, I had to word this very carefully. If I didn't, they might think I was making this up just because I still had feelings for Austin. Which, by the way, I would never do. But ya never know what my friends may think. They're extremely complex people.

"You look different," Kira stated, quietly shutting her locker down. I glanced at her, and she smiled sheepishly.

Trish nodded seriously. "Yeah, you're all sweaty and panting."

Dez shook his head, thoughtfully tapping his chin. "No, that's not it."

I rolled my eyes, then leaned against the nearby lockers. "Well," I started slowly, still racking my brain for a great idea. Finally I decided I would just have to tell it like it is. Even if it may cause issues. "I was walking to school and I overheard Miranda talking on the phone. I know it was wrong, but I ducked behind a bush and eavesdropped. It turns out she was talking to Trent, of all people, and guess what? They're dating," I answered myself, not even giving my friends long enough to respond. "Miranda is just using Austin. It's all one big, huge, nasty, revenge-y scam."

Kira knitted her brows together delicately. "Didn't Trish used to date a guy named Trent? I mean, I saw some video online. It was a dance off between Austin and some Trent dude. Most of the comments said it was because he was using Trish or something."

I nodded slowly, glancing over at Trish to judge her reaction. Her expression was totally blank. "Yeah. And it turns Austin's new girlfriend is actually Trent's girlfriend."

"_Treranda_," Dez said warily, then nodded in approval. "I ship it!"

I rolled my eyes at him again, then sighed quietly. "There's one more thing. Apparently, she heard about my nightmares and she's planning on telling Austin, probably today. She wants to convince him that I'm a total freak." The fact that Miranda knew about my nightmares actually wasn't very shocking. News spread throughout Marino High like wildfire, except faster. Much faster. Everyone knew that Austin and I were a couple before I did. No joke.

"But you're not a freak," Dez told me reassuringly.

I smiled wide. "Thanks, D-"

"You're just an awkward, weird girl!" he continued brightly, grinning from ear to ear. I exhaled impatiently when Trish violently whacked his arm. This was the least of my problems, though.

"We need to tell Austin. She doesn't even really care about him, and he deserves better than that," I muttered. Dez and Trish glanced at each other, and Kira raised a single eyebrow.

"Like you?" Kira asked, hiding a smirk. I blushed furiously, quickly shaking my head. I opened my mouth to try to reply, disagree, anything, but Kira beat me to it. "Don't worry, Ally. We all love Auslly."

"_Auslly_?" I practically shrieked, catching the attention of several students. I smiled apologetically and politely at then, then turned back to my friends. "Let me guess, that's like Treranda?" I asked, groaning slightly. My three best friends nodded simultaneously. I sighed, but didn't press the subject further. "Whatever. We really need to let Austin in about it. He deserves to know."

"Let me in on what?"

I stifled a gasp, backing up and accidentally slamming into Kira, who slammed into Dez, who slammed into Trish, who shoved Dez, who fell flat on his face. Kira awkwardly helped him up, saving him from getting trampled on by a seemingly endless number of students.

"Um," I mumbled, blushing a shade of red so deep tomatoes would be envious. "N-nothing," I stuttered, still flushing. Trish groaned, pushing me aside so she was standing in front of me. I gulped, trying to prepare myself for what was about to come.

Trish cleared her throat loudly. "I, unlike _some people_, am not going to beat around the bush. Austin, your girlfriend is faker than a fairy," she said bluntly, crossing her arms across her chest. I whimpered quietly, really wanting to crawl into my locker and stay there. _Forever_.

"What?! I thought fairies were real!" Dez cried suddenly, then he frowned. "You're just a non-believer. But don't worry, Tink. I know you're real!" he shouted. Kira giggled, then immediately grew serious when she saw the death glare I was shooting her and Dez.

Austin frowned, then shook his head. "No, she's not. Miranda's great. Why would you even say that?"

_Don't mention me, don't mention me, don't mention me ..._

"Because Ally overheard her talking to Trent on the phone."

_Crap_.

Austin rolled his eyes. "Why on earth would my amazing girlfriend be talking to that jerk? Are you even sure it was the same Trent?"

Trish nodded quickly. "Positive. Apparently, she's just using you for revenge or whatever, she's actually dating Trent, and she's going to try to convince you that Ally is a total freak, which she isn't."

"Yeah, she's just an awkward, weird girl," Dez interjected. Trish shot him one of her famous death glares and he nervously scratched the back of his neck. She smirked in satisfaction before returning her attention back to Austin.

Austin sighed, running his fingers through his blond hair. Something he always did when he was exhausted. "Then why isn't Ally telling me this?" he asked Trish sternly, although he was looking at me. Well, glaring, really. Oh, _wow_, if looks could kill I would be six feet under right now ...

Trish shrugged. "Not sure. Why aren't you telling him, Allllyyyy?" she asked, turning to me and stretching out my name. I shrugged, staring pointedly at my high heels. It was like I couldn't even speak, I was so nervous.

"How do I know she's not just making this up?" Austin asked abruptly.

"Say what now?" Dez asked in a high, girlish voice. Kira glanced at him, obviously appalled by his tone, but I ignored them. My eyes were locked on Austin while I tried to remember how to speak.

_He didn't believe me._

"Well, we all know she's in lo-" Austin cut off suddenly, catching himself. _In love with me_. I blushed furiously, looking back down at my shoes. I wanted to hide under my bed until the apocalypse or whatever.

"Yes, and we all know you're _in luh_ with her, too!" Dez said excitedly, clapping his hands together like a fangirl. Trish elbowed him in the ribs and he let out a high-pitched shriek. Kira sighed, rocking back and forth on her heels.

I couldn't help but notice Austin wasn't denying it. He certainly wasn't confirming it, either, of course. But silence was a better sign than a flat-out _no, I'm not._ That probably would have ripped my heart out and set it on fire. Just saying.

"I wouldn't lie to you," I whispered, finally finding my voice.

Austin glanced at me, biting his lower lip. Considering. He was considering! _Yes!_ But then he quickly shook his head. "I'm sorry. But I don't believe you." And with that he strode away, leaving me in his dust.

"Soo ... that went well," Trish mumbled.


End file.
